For the seventh straight time, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has once again earned a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

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STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. UMass Amherst has held a STARS Gold rating since 2011 and the Gold achievement in the latest STARS report, which followed a nearly 10-month data collection and campus engagement process, is valid until May 2029.

“UMass Amherst’s continued STARS Gold rating from the AASHE reflects the university’s commitment to sustainability for the Common Good,” says Chancellor Javier Reyes. “We proudly live our values as a global leader in advancing the health and well-being of people and the planet by intentionally integrating sustainability into our mission and campus culture. I thank the university’s staff, students and faculty who continue to enable our progress.”

“This STARS reporting process is always incredibly rewarding and valuable to advancing sustainability,” says Ezra Small, campus sustainability manager. “We engaged with over 30 campus stakeholders and departments across the university over 10 months to collect data for this report. Seeing all of the programs and initiatives that are contributing to the Common Good in one place makes me proud of UMass.”

Developed by the higher education community through a transparent and inclusive process, STARS is designed to:

• Provide a self-reporting framework for understanding sustainability in all sectors of higher education
• Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community
• Create incentives for continual improvement toward sustainability
• Facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and performance
• Build a stronger, more diverse campus sustainability community

STARS assesses not only an institution’s environmental factors, but also social and economic ones. An institution’s STARS score is based on the percentage of applicable points it earns across four main categories of credits: academics, engagement, operations, and planning and administration. Any credits earned for innovation are then added to the final percentage, determining the total STARS score.

“We are now working this summer with the data to develop a plan to attain a STARS Platinum ranking and I think it can be achieved before the end of the decade when we report again in 2029,” says Small, who was elected this year to serve on the AASHE’s STARS Steering Committee.

UMass Amherst’s public report can be viewed on the STARS website. As an AASHE member, all UMass community members have access using a university email address to create an AASHE account.